Friction
by KitaxHaku
Summary: Usually younger brothers are supposed to be annoying and immature, playing pranks that always go too far or ruining your first date. I wish this was the case for me-—my younger brother's just plain demonic. But in a sweet way I guess. KuramaxOC
1. Chapter 1

**If you're **new to this story**, ignore this and begin reading. If you are one of my **previous readers,** please read below!

**I'm really making **HUGE** changes for this story; I'm kind of excited to see what you think (you may even be MAD that I changed so much)! Seriously. It is ridiculous on how much I have changed the story; it is going to be completely different from the first draft…the only similarity is that our heroine has Juichi! I'm so excited to rewrite this. I've spent all this time on the whole plot, trying to keep it straight. I hope you like it a lot!

~…*…*…*…*…~

The final bell rang, and I quickly said goodbye to my friends. They, in response, put their hands on their hips and blocked the classroom door immediately. I gulped as they snarled.

"Are you not going to hang out with us? You've been leaving early for the past two weeks!"

I fiddled with my frizzy brown hair while sticking out my tongue. "Sorry guys! I promised Jun-chan—" They groaned at my younger brother's name, but I only repeated myself, "..._I promised_ Jun-chan that I would go with him to a new Takoyaki store. I can't just back out, you know."

"But you back out on us all the time!" Another confronted, leaning forward. "First, it was just every other day, but now we can't even get you to go anywhere without your brother interfering. Juichi-kun has such a sister complex...it's obvious he keeps you preoccupied on purpose!"

"I know, I know!" I said, waving my hands.

They peered down at me, eyes narrowed in disbelief. "So you say…but every time we bring this up, nothing changes!" I took a step to the side as they approached with more angry complaints, and dove for the door.

_An opening!_ I chuckled to myself; I kind of felt like James Bond, dodging the bad guys.

Well, you know, except for the bad guys being my friends. And there was no chance of me dying. But you get my point.

"Hey! Get back here!" One called. I turned to them, winking before dashing down the hall.

"I'm sorry, you guys! You're totally right. I'll talk to him about it tonight. Tomorrow I'll be all yours!" They raised their eyebrows with growls. "I promise! But right now, I have to meet up with him, so I'll see you tomorrow!"

I turned the corner, waving again before going down the stairs.

"Don't forget, Mitsuki-chan!" I puffed my cheeks, blowing my bangs out of my eyes as I ran. I continued down the stairs, and switched my slippers with roller blades once I got to my locker. Once I strapped them on, I stood up and swirled around to face the school.

"Mitsuki-chan!" I looked up at the window of my classroom to see the girls. "Bring money tomorrow! You're paying for everything!"

My brother came out as I waved to them. He twisted his similarly brunette head to look up with hazel eyes.

"Who are you talking to?" Juichi questioned, catching my attention.

"Ah, Jun-chan, you're here!" I said with a smile, "I was just saying goodbye to my friends."

Juichi looked up at the window again, sending protective glares up at the girls. Of course, the girls glared back, and proceeded to have a battle of fierce looks. I sighed.

It began…like every other day of the week.

"What are you gawking at?" Juichi called. The girls reeled back in insult before spitting in reply.

My friends and I were third years, so Juichi's attitude made them hate the first year even more. The only thing keeping them from sicking their boyfriends on him was that he was cute. They called him their boy toy on occasion.

"We're looking at our friend, Mr. Sister Complex!" Juichi flushed red as the girls giggled in victory, running back inside the classroom.

"I don't have a sister complex!"

"Oh stop it, Jun-chan! Let's get going." After sending a last glare to the empty window, Juichi followed me closely out of the school yard.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Tomorrow I'm hanging out with my friends." Juichi paid for the Takoyaki before leaning on the banister.

"Where did that come from?"

I shrugged, a smile on my lips. "I haven't hung out with them for weeks, and I feel bad for backing out on them so much."

"But," Juichi said, puppy eyes ensued, "I thought we were going to hang out some more tomorrow…"

"Oh don't try it, Jun-chan!" I said, crossing my arms. "I am always hanging out with you. It won't hurt if I hang out with my friends a couple of days in the week—"

"A couple of days in the week?" Juichi repeated, his head snapping up. He stomped his foot, causing me to blink in surprise and confusion. "And to do what, those days? You used to pay for everything for them with your money. I don't like you wasting your money on those—"

"But you're not the boss of me, and I can spend my money on what I like! Besides, I'm the older sibling here!"

"Only by two years!"

"My _point_!" I sighed as Juichi crossed his arms in displeasure. "You really do have a sister complex…don't you?"

Juichi replied by glaring at his me with a red face, his temper once again getting the best of him. "See? Those so called friends of yours talk about me like that, and now you do too!"

"Oh please," I said, rolling my eyes as I flipped my hair to one shoulder, "you know I'm only teasing." I petted my younger brother's head, smiling. "I need to have a life, Jun-chan."

He responded by turning to take the Takoyaki and sitting on a nearby bench. "I wish you'd have a better life…without those troublesome girls…" I sighed before sitting down beside him.

I spoiled my brother far too much. "…How is it?"

"…It's good."

~…*…*…*…*…~

The two of us walked home, the sun setting. Already over our quarrel, we joked and teased each other. Juichi offered a race. "Whoever gets home first gets the last ice cream in the freezer."

"Hey!" I said, roller blading beside him, "That was mine in the first place! No way!"

Juichi chuckled with a grin, and bent down to start racing. "On your marks, get set—hey!" He called out to me, who was racing ahead with a head start. I turned my head over my shoulder, tongue sticking out.

"Since it is mine, I get a head start!" Juichi pointed in front of me, and I looked forward, only to see the chest of a man getting closer-or, rather-_me_ getting closer to _it_. "Ack!" I swerved around the man, only to crash into the wall.

"Onee-san!" Juichi called in alarm, running up to me, "Are you alright?"

I moaned, rubbing my nose. I had so much luck. _So. Much. Luck._

"I apologize, are you alright?" A silky voice called out from my left. I looked up, seeing emerald green eyes and red hair. My face flushed as I looked at him.

_Gorgeous._

The sexy boy must have been no more than a year or two older than me, yet he held such a mature look in his eyes that I double questioned myself.

He stared back at me, his expression calm (as if used to seeing looks like mine) and his hand out stretched to help me up. I felt my face turn from pink to red as I realized I was gawking, and stood up on my own to bow.

"Oh, no! I-I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going; it was completely my fault!"

He smiled, shaking his hand as he straightened his back. "It is quite alright." When I laughed, holding my sore nose, he leaned closer. "I'm assuming your face is in good condition? That was quite a nasty smack against the wall."

Before I could answer, Juichi pulled me away from the devilishly handsome boy. "Yeah, well, you could have dodged her any time, mister."

"Jun-chan!" I scolded, smacking his head lightly. I bowed again, smiling up at him. "I'm sorry. My brother is very protective of me."

He grinned down at Juichi for a moment, and both Juichi and I responded to it: with a red face and a scowl respectively. I bowed again, apologizing one last time, before realizing that if we stayed, Juichi would embarrass me further. "Well then, sir—"

"Oh! I seem to be on a rude streak," He chuckled at his joke before introducing himself. "I am Suuichi Minamino. Nice to meet you…?" He waited for an answer from Juichi and me.

"M-Mitsuki Youyuku…a pleasure…" I stuttered, bowing lightly. Juichi glared at Suuichi as if he had done him a personal wrong, but I elbowed his gut to break it. He groaned for a moment before muttering his name.

Suuichi held eye contact with Juichi for a short moment before the two both looked away from each other with different expressions. Suuichi seemed amused; Juichi, conflicted. I blinked, standing between the two, and leaned towards Juichi.

"Oh…have you two actually met before?"

"No!" Juichi snarled quickly, spinning his head to glare at me. I blinked, waving my hands in defense.

"Okay, okay! Sorry…" I sighed before looking at Suuichi, who was smiling down at me in slight amusement. "W-well…it was very nice to meet you, Minamino-san." I bowed one last time. "I really am sorry about all of this."

Suuichi replied by shaking his head and waving a hand. "Let's just be glad that no one got _too_ hurt." He chuckled before walking around me, and stopping beside Juichi. It seemed as though he had muttered something, and I confirmed this by Juichi's shoulders tensing.

They both noticed my stare, and Suuichi smiled at the two of us again before walking away.

_What a guy…_

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Eh? You're going to hang out with some friends today?" I asked. I took a bite of my toast as Juichi and I sat with our parents, eating breakfast the next day. "With who?"

Juichi also took a bite of his breakfast before shrugging. "Some friends I met the other day. We're gonna get something to eat."

I nodded, pleased that he was taking an interest in social interaction. "Awesome!"

"Then that means that you will be coming straight home, right Mitsuki?" I looked at my mother, who hadn't bothered to lift her head from her plate. I sighed lightly.

_Here we go again._

"I-I was going to hang out with some of my friends today, actually."

"**But** you need to study." She snapped in reply. "Your grades are borderline; you don't have time to play around."

I sighed lightly before Juichi interrupted the conversation. "Come on, mom cut her a break. She studies for hours after we get home already."

"But her grades make no motion to improve." She snarled in reply. Juichi lowered his head, his eyes apologetic towards me. Our mother glared at him, and then slowly enhanced the glare when her eyes laid upon mine.

"So, you will come home and study."

~…*…*…*…*…~

"But you promised us you'd come with us!"

I gave my friends an apologetic look as we swept the school yard. "I'm really sorry you guys. My mother—"

"No more excuses, Mitsuki-chan!" One of them said, crossing her arms, "You promised us, and now you're, once again, backing out."

"Maybe we shouldn't be friends anymore, if you don't want to hang out with us." The five circled me, walking up with arms crossed over their brooms.

"It's not like I'm doing this on my own choice—"

"But you could have not made the promise." One said, curling her hair as she looked at me.

"Yeah, you could have said that you would try."

"I—"

"Well, at least give us some money. We didn't bring any, cause we thought you'd be paying for us."

"I…" I stuttered, fumbling with my broom, "I don't have any money…I left it at home."

"What kind of friend are you? Won't even give us money…"

Another took a step closer to me, eyes wide. "We need a compensation, don't we, girls?"

I could suddenly feel the adrenaline in the air; things were getting tense. They sighed, some of them shaking their heads.

We were in the back of the school yard, so if anything happened, it wouldn't turn out well for me. "Y-you guys…don't do this…"

"Do what?" They asked, slowly turning in the circle they had made. "We haven't even done anything."

It was amazing on how so-called friends could turn on you in an instance. The need to be better than someone else was so overpowering in humans. In an instance, your friends could become enemies.

And this was what was happening. Right now. To me.

"You won't lay a finger on her, if you don't want a black eye." All heads snapped up to see Juichi walking around the corner. The circle broke, and they stood on one side of me.

"Oh look!" They giggled, "It's Mr. Sister Complex!"

All of the adrenaline vanished from the air as estrogen took over. Juichi walked up to me, standing between us as a barrier. His glare quickly shut off their flirtatious vibes. They looked at me, heads raised up.

"Ne, Mitsuki-chan," One called sweetly, "Tell Juichi-kun we were just kidding around!"

"Don't say anything, Onee-san. These girls are low lives." He turned his head to me, revealing an agitated frown, "Like I _told_ you before."

I lowered my head, and he took the hint to scold me later. He took my hand and pulled me from behind the school in silence. He stopped to warn the girls that if they teased me, he would know, and make hell for them.

I looked at my thought-to-be friends, who glared back with crossed arms until I turned the corner.

Juichi kept walking until I whispered his name. He stopped, turned around, and began to yell. "What is wrong with you? Why did you just stand there, when you know you could've been beaten up?"

"They circled me, Jun-chan…" I whispered, "If I ran, they would have easily blocked my path."

Juichi, realizing that yelling would get him nowhere, sighed while rubbing his forehead. "What if I'm not there, one day?" His eyes seemed stressed and, to an extent, sad. "I can't protect you forever, Onee-san."

Taken aback from his sudden, sentimental speech, I lowered my head, fingers curled. "I-I know that! It's not like I _try_ to get myself in those kind of situations…"

Juichi's temper returned as I looked up at him. "But you start 'those kind of situations' by being so immature!" He stomped his foot. "You always say that you are the older sibling, but your personality shows the opposite! You expect things to simply fall into place, the way _you_ want them to, but in reality that won't always happen!"

"I know that, Jun-chan!" I snapped back, "I know that perfectly well! But, another thing about my personality: in addition to being _immature_, I also am a striver. I strive to make things work out for me, in this world that refuses to give me a break!"

"Oh please," Juichi said, rolling his eyes. "You're acting like you are the most mistreated person in the world."

"No I'm _not!_" I yelled, taking a step closer to him. "But I am acting like a person who is mistreated by her parents, her peers and even her own little brother!"

Realizing my point of view, Juichi reached out for me tenderly. "I'm not trying to hurt you, Onee-san. I just want you to take better care of yourself."

I shrugged his arms away from me and headed towards the school. "Just..just leave me alone for a while…"

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Onee-san, I'm home." Juichi opened my door. "Onee-san?"

"Welcome home." I said apathetically, bending over homework at my desk. He sighed as I continued doing my homework.

"Can we talk?"

I paused, holding the pencil in my hand, before looking at Juichi. "That depends. Are you going to snap again?"

He walked in, closing the door behind him, before sitting on my bed. His fingers knitted together as he looked down at them. "I'm sorry, Onee-san. I was wrong to yell at you, when you were the one getting bullied."

I sat in silence, my eyes refusing to focus on the papers in front of me. I sighed, pushing my chair back and standing up to face Juichi.

After I had come home, I had come straight to my room to think about all that had happened.

Juichi _had_ been trying to protect me, knowing that the girls were just using me for money and Juichi-sight-seeing. He had tried to keep me away by keeping me preoccupied, even if it cost him his reputation at school.

He had done it all for me, and I returned the favor by acting like the spoiled one.

"I…I'm sorry too. I'll try not to worry you as much." I sat beside him on the bed, and patted his shoulder. "Thank you for helping me, Jun-chan."

He nodded, and we talked leisurely until it was time for dinner. As we stood up, I asked him a last question.

"How was your day out with the boys?"

He tensed, and looked at the ground with a glare. I stared at him as he tried burning the ground with his glare. "Jun-chan?"

He looked up, remembering where he was, and smiled at me lightly. The smile didn't reach his eyes. "It was…okay."

~…*…*…*…*…~

So what do you think? Is this better than the first chapter of MYBIAD I? Kurama wasn't in this one much, I know, but he will be soon. :3 I'm so excited for this revise!

If you are reading for the first time, I hope you liked it too!

See you next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

YAY! I have a beta for this story (Akuno_Hikari), so hopefully it'll come out even BETTER! :3 So excited…aren't you? Anyway I am thinking about making a deadline for myself…like by every other Friday I'll post a chapter. I think it'd keep me up to date.

Thank you for reviewing, **Twiisted'Colors**, **Akuno_Hikari** and **Death101- Fox Version**! Your comments were very much appreciated! :3

Anywhoooo, let's get onto some good old Yu Yu Hakusho goodness! :D

~…*…*…*…*…~

She raised me as our parents worked, and protected me from the neighborhood bullies. She taught me to cook rice, and she taught me how to play soccer. She taught me everything I knew. And even when I treated her like trash, or got angry because of something stupid, she always forgave me with a smile.

My sister means everything to me.

So when a certain red haired demon threatens my sister, telling me _telepathically_, no less, that if I don't comply with his requests, that she may be harmed, it is also natural that I will to do whatever it takes to protect her.

"How far do we have to go to _talk_?" I snapped, tapping my finger on my crossed arms.

"Far enough so that there is no chance of interference. Should a human hear our conversation, I'd have to erase their memories. And that is a rather annoying situation I'd rather not have to go through." He led me deep into the nearby woods, and didn't turn to even spare me a single glance.

I looked back towards the fading lights of the city, wondering if Mitsuki was still mad at me. We didn't have a chance to talk after school (not that Mitsuki would _want_ to).

The demon had told me to meet him as soon as possible, or else Mitsuki may have an 'accident.'

"You seem troubled." He spoke, breaking the silence as he flipped red strands of hair over his shoulder.

"No shit." I growled back. "You only threatened to kill my sister." Finally, he looked at me, although it was at the corner of his eye.

"No," He said in rebut, "Not kill. I am far more humane than that."

I laughed sarcastically. "Right…so says the demon thief Yoko Kurama."

He stopped walking, and turned to me, his eyes glowing green. "You forget that I too live amongst the humans. I also have learned and empathized with their emotions." He turned slightly, casting his gaze at the ground. "…I wouldn't be doing this if I had another choice."

Before I could say anything, another voice called Kurama.

"So, this is the brat?" Kurama and I both turned, spotting a large man walking up to us. It was easy to see that he was another demon; low class, but a demon nonetheless.

"Goki." Kurama acknowledged. His voice seemed colder, and his eyes iced over with a sense of loathing.

"Is Hiei not here yet?" The giant grumbled, "I'm tired of waiting."

"Hiei?" I repeated. I had heard about him; the fire demon that possessed the Evil Eye. Unlike Goki, he was powerful, and I wasn't scared to admit that I had no chance against him.

"We're meeting Hiei? Why?"

"You still haven't explained it to the fool, Kurama?" A dark shadow dropped out of a close tree, and stood to reveal the red eyes of Hiei. "Perhaps Goki should have gone to get him, after all."

"I will explain it to him, now." Kurama replied, his eyes sharp. "Do not forget, Hiei, that I too can get angry."

The two glared at each other as I stood in shock and confusion in between. "What…what do you _want_ from me?" The three turned to me, and Kurama cleared his throat, taking a step forward.

"We…want to steal three artifacts from the Reikai. And we want you to help."

~…*…*…*…*…~

The students spread out for lunch as I immediately turned my head to the door. Many other students ventured to our room, but not the one person I wanted.

"Again, Jun-chan?"

Juichi usually came by to see me, at least for a minute or two, during lunch. Recently, though, he hadn't been coming at all.

I sighed, wondering why my brother had become so distant—especially since we had only become closer after he had saved me two weeks ago.

_I wonder if it has to do with these new friends of his…_

Ever since he made those 'new friends,' Juichi had become distant, and often times too busy to do anything with me. He got home late, and left for school early. He never mentioned these playmates at home, and refused to bring them anywhere near the house.

I sighed, shrugging the feeling of worry and despair off my shoulders. I had to accept that Juichi was a typical middle school boy who yearned for social interaction.

I sat at my desk again and pulled my lunch out. "Ne, ne, Mitsuki-san!" Aoki, the cherry girl of our class, skipped up to my desk.

We had become better friends after I was dumped by the other girls of the class. She was the only girl who still talked to me.

I smiled up to her as she skipped up to me. "Good afternoon, Aoki-san."

"Have you heard?" She asked, sitting at the desk in front of me. I blinked. "Have you heard about the red headed boy? The one with green eyes?"

She didn't even have to say his name. My face turned scarlet, and she grinned in reply.

"So you _have_ heard of him! Minamino Suuichi!"

"Y-yeah…" I said, scratching the back of my head. "A couple of weeks ago, I almost crashed into him…literally."

Her eyes widened. "You're kidding me." When I shook my head, she took my hands in hers. "You're so lucky!"

I shook my head violently as I turned red. "I-I've only met him once!"

"Well that's once more than I have." She complained, leaning her chin on her hand. "You know, there are girls at the high school that go so far as to set up little _traps_ for him, but he escapes them every time." She eyed me, "And you were lucky enough to meet him _by_ _chance_."

I, calming myself down with a sigh, shook my head again. "It wouldn't have been a meeting at all, had I paid attention to where I was going." We paused the conversation to open our lunches.

I was just regular a third year, at a regular public middle school, with regular grades. Suuichi was a first year genius, at the famous Meiou high school, with top notch grades.

I wore a white and blue sailor fuku, while he wore the prestigious purple and yellow striped uniform.

He had looks that were angelic as well as a flowing voice and gentle manners. I had plain brown eyes and plain brown hair, with a high pitch voice and barely any chest.

It was true; me, of all people, meeting _the _Minamino Suuichi on the street was unbelievable and could only be classified as a coincidence.

As I started eating, Aoki stared me down. "What would you do…if you found out that _he_ had planned to run into _you_?"

My face lit up like a Christmas tree. Aoki waited for my reply to the theory as I covered my bright cheeks. "W-what on earth are you saying? Minamino-san would never like a girl like me!" I put my chop sticks down as I chewed on my lower lip, my appetite gone. Aoki grinned to my reaction.

"You call yourself plain…but your reactions are so cute!" When I only fumbled with my hands in my lap, she leaned her cheek onto her hand and bent towards me. "Well maybe you'll meet him again. I've heard that he's been hanging around our middle school recently."

~…*…*…*…*…~

I stared out the window, my head in the clouds.

Minamino Suuichi. Why did he leave such an impression?

One. It only took one meeting to knock me off my feet. I couldn't get him out of my head, especially after Aoki had mentioned that that the tiny, puny, little chance I had with him could possibly be, well, possible.

I sighed, shaking the thought out of my mind. A meeting by chance would not change that I was plain, and Suuichi was…Suuichi. Despite what I wanted.

_It'll go away in time._

Besides, this crush was the last thing that I needed to think about. I was worried about Juichi, and he beat Suuichi in that race easily.

"Youyuku-san, would you like to come back from the world of daydreams and join the rest of the class?" I jumped as my teacher scolded me from the front of the classroom, and I flushed, nodding as I picked up my book.

"Y-yes sir!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Jun-chan, can we talk?" I asked, walking into his classroom as the day came to an end. He, who was already packing his bag, glanced quickly at me before continuing.

"Sorry, Onee-san. I'm really busy today. I'll talk to you when I get home."

I crossed my arms, looking to the side for a moment. "But…I really want to talk to you now."

Juichi pitched his backpack over his shoulder and turned to leave. "I'm sorry but I really can't—"

When he noticed my upset face, he sighed, taking a step back to stand beside me. "Please don't be mad. It's just that I already agreed to meet with someone after school today."

"One of your friends, again?" I asked. He nodded, and I raised my crossed arms from my waist to my chest in frustration. "I want to meet them. Take me with you."

"Onee-san," he said, sighing, "they're a bunch of guys. There's no way I'm letting you meet them."

And, suddenly, I felt okay with that.

That's right. I felt just fine that Juichi went out without me; that he went to hang out with these friends that he hadn't even introduced me to.

I sighed before smiling. "You know what? You're right. Who am I to judge your friends?"

Juichi was blinking in confusion. "Y…yeah, that's right."

I shrugged. "So I guess I'll just see you when you get home."

Juichi eyed me with obvious doubt. He leaned down to my height. "_Really_?"

"Yes, really!" I said patting his cheek, my smile reaching my ears, "I forgot that you were a responsible young man, capable of taking care of yourself."

Juichi grinned, feeling proud. "Oh, well if you say it that way…"

I'm no genius, but I knew Juichi well enough to know that he would drop all suspicions if I inflated his ego.

"Well," I said, waving to him, "I'm going to go walk home with Aoki-san."

"Ah." Juichi nodded, waving back. I turned the corner, grinning as I stretched my hands up in the air.

Juichi thought I was going home.

He thought I'd go and wait for him to return, like a good little girl.

But if _you_ thought that I was going home like he did, you were mistaken. Deeply, deeply mistaken.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Where the heck is he going?" I mumbled with an annoyed growl.

Juichi had been walking without taking any turns; I wondered if he had caught me following him.

I dove into an alleyway when Juichi turned with a questioning look. I watched from around the corner and waited for him to continue.

_Note to self, don't talk so loud that he can __**hear**__ you._

He began to walk but abruptly stopped and looked to his left, as if he had been called to. I strained my neck to see what he was staring at.

And then, _he_ walked up to Juichi, a small smile perched on his lips. "Hello, Juichi-kun."

My jaw dropped as I leaned forward, trying to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Of course, with red hair and green eyes like that, I knew I wasn't.

"Minamino Suuichi?"

As if he had heard me, he turned in my direction. I covered my mouth, slamming my back against the alley wall so hard that I let out a gasp.

"What are you staring at?" Juichi asked with a grunt.

"I thought someone said my name." Suuichi explained, slight amusement in his voice.

_Dang it!_ I thought. _Didn't I just remind myself __**not**__ to do that?_

I quickly got up, nearly falling by forgetting I had roller blades on, and skated down the alley way.

Once I felt safe I stopped, leaning on my knees to catch my breath. I skated to a nearby park and sat on a bench to think things out.

"When did they become friends?" I held my chin in thought, moving my legs back and forward.

_Jun-chan said he had never met Minamino-san before. Maybe they met again and became friends?_

Clueless, I leaned my head back and let out a sigh. "I'll just ask him tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

"No way!"

I covered Aoki's mouth as our peers stared at her for the outburst.

Once they returned to eating their lunches, Aoki tore my hand off her mouth and leaned closer towards me to whisper.

"Juichi-kun is friends with Minamino Suuichi?"

I nodded, rubbing my forehead as I leaned back into my seat. "I didn't believe it at first either but I saw it with my own eyes. The two met yesterday after school."

"I can't believe it…" She relaxed her shoulders and sighed slightly. "You know, for such a plain girl you sure are getting all the luck."

"Luck?"

"Uh, yeah!" She replied while rolling her eyes. "Your brother is friends with one of the most attractive guys…ever."

I chuckled in reply before taking a sip of my juice. "Well I don't think that it's doing much good since Jun-chan doesn't want me to _know _that they're friends."

She blinked. "That's strange…he's usually eager to introduce you to his friends, isn't he?"

I nodded and looked out the window. "Yeah, especially since he's very picky on who he calls a friend."

We sat in silence before Aoki leaned towards me again. "So are you going to talk to him about it?"

I paused, letting my chin slip out of my palm as I turned my head towards her. "I want to, but I don't know when. Even if I try to stay up late for him, I still fall asleep before he gets home."

Aoki put her hand on her chin in thought. We sat there, eyes on the desk, hoping that it would magically tell us the answer to our dilemma.

Not even after another moment's thought, Aoki suddenly jolted out of her seat, her hands grabbing either side of my desk. I stared at her, startled and confused, as her eyes glimmered with excitement.

"I've got it!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Are you sure about this?"

Aoki paid for her ice cream as I stood beside her, my arms crossed over my chest.

My eyes hadn't left Juichi, who was sitting on a bench not too far away, until I glanced nervously towards my friend.

"Because I'm not really comfortable with this."

I had trailed Juichi only yesterday and had almost been caught. Needless to say I was nervous about following him again.

She sighed in reply as she turned to me, leaning her weight onto one leg. "Do you want to find out what Juichi-kun is up to or not?"

I nodded while lowering my head quietly.

"Okay then. Let's go find a hiding spot." She slipped on sun glasses and proceeded to jump into a bush. I sighed as I began to walk over.

"Hello Youyuku-san." I froze, recognizing the voice in an instance, and turned quickly.

"M-Minamino…san!"

After shutting my mouth, I turned slightly to Aoki who was staring at Suuichi with a beet red face, her own mouth gapped open.

She looked at me, lowering herself as I asked for help silently. She only mouthed something to me:

_Lucky!_

~…*…*…*…*…~

I saw Juichi's sister as I made my way towards him. I frowned, my eyes narrowed as I realized that she, and another girl, were staring at the said boy.

My mind jumped to one conclusion: I couldn't let an innocent get involved, let alone two middle school girls.

I stopped, an equal distance from both of the siblings, calculating all possible solutions for the problem.

_Juichi. _

His head lifted and he looked for me until successful.

_Your sister is watching you. Put your head back down and try not to look suspicious._

He revealed a surprised expression before quickly obeying my command. _Onee-san? W-what is she doing here?_

I took a step forward, adjusting my uniform's collar loosely. _That is also what I would like to know. Have you told her—_

_No! _Juichi spared me a glare from the corner of his eye.

_She knows nothing about you demons. _

_Then perhaps it is just a coincidence. _I put my hands in my pocket casually. _Very well…I shall distract her so that you can go meet with Goki._

_Over my dead body! _Juichi responded. _You won't go near her if you know what's good for you!_

I raised an eyebrow, already walking towards Mitsuki. The other girl had gone ahead of her, and she was about to follow.

_Would you rather her know about 'us demons,' then? _When I received a silent reply, I nodded in approval.

_Then get ready to go. Goki is waiting for you in the forest. _

He didn't reply, though he kept a stern glare fixed at the back of my head as I approached his sister.

"Hello Youyuku-san."

She stiffened as she turned to see me. I was amused at her obvious shock; she reminded me of a child who'd been caught with a cookie before dinner.

"M-Minamino-san!" She stuttered before seeming to remember something. She turned her head slightly to look behind her.

I followed her eyes and found the other girl hiding in a bush, staring at me with her face red and mouth open. Used to this reaction, I switched my attention back to Mitsuki. Or at least, I tried.

_If you do anything to her,_ _I will kill you. _

I could feel Juichi stand there for another moment before moving, getting farther and farther away from us.

I looked down at Mitsuki again, finally able to focus on the brunette.

"A friend of yours?" I asked, tilting my head towards the girl in the bush.

She twirled her head back to face me, her hands stiff at her sides, and nodded quickly. "U-um…yeah! We were just…looking for her wallet."

"Ah, I see. Perhaps you require assistance? I wouldn't mind helping." I tried to hide my knowing grin behind a kind smile as Mitsuki fidgeted.

"No!" She covered her mouth after the outburst, turning red. "I-I mean…no thank you."

She turned back towards the girl. "Aoki-san, I'll look this way for your wallet, okay?"

"A-ah, it's okay!" The girl, Aoki, called back. "I just found it!"

Mitsuki seemed relieved that Aoki was playing along with her, and she turned to me, a bit more confident. "Well then, Minamino-san…it was nice seeing you again. I guess…I'll see you later?"

"Yes," I said smiling, "I suppose so."

She turned swiftly and made her way towards her friend, and I took the moment to analyze her.

She wasn't out of the ordinary with her thick brown hair and chestnut brown eyes. I found it impressive that if you merely narrowed her eyes and gave them a drop of hazel, along with a couple of inches in height, she'd be a replica of Juichi.

Although the two were siblings, Mitsuki was bland and boring while Juichi was alive and enthusiastic. The only thing even slightly similar was their auras, since they were siblings.

Yet even those were different, since Mitsuki was a human.

Tracing Juichi's aura, I turned to find him and the other demon we were to meet with.

As I left I could hearing Aoki squealing to Mitsuki. "Eek! I finally saw him! Minamino Suuichi!"

The smell of blood followed quickly.

~…*…*…*…*…~

I leaned on the brick wall in front of Aoki's house, sighing deeply. "What a crazy girl…getting a nose bleed from simply looking at Minamino-san…"

After meeting with Suuichi in the park, Aoki had a nose bleed, and Juichi had disappeared. The day ended with me escorting a blood leaking girl to her house.

I sighed again, rubbing my forehead as I headed towards the train station. The sun was setting, and I had a lot of home work to do.

That was when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Juichi walk into a nearby forest.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Goki where the hell are you?"

It was bad enough that I had to leave Mitsuki with that bastard Kurama. Waiting for a soul-thirsting demon like Goki wasn't helping my nerves any.

"Stop yelling." Goki said as he came into view with an equally irritated face. I glared at him, crossing my arms, as he pulled out the Reikai artifact that had been promised to him; the Gakidama.

"I was just about to try out my new toy when Kurama called me. What do you want?"

I looked at him, sickened, but answered regardless. "That's what I want to know. Kurama called me here, too."

There was a sudden noise and Goki and I turned. "Who's there?" No response.

"Answer me!"

"If you don't get out here, I will come and get you myself." Goki growled. He took a step forward when we finally got an answer.

"O-okay! I-I'll come out…"

My eyes widened as Mitsuki stepped from behind the tree, her tongue sticking out like she'd been caught in a game of hide and seek.

"Onee-san!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

I had expected Juichi to be angry at me for following him.

What I didn't expect was him to stare at me with eyes full of fear.

"Onee-san!" He yelled, quickly running towards me. "You have to get out of here—now!"

I blinked at him in confusion. The tall man, 'Goki' Juichi had called him, walked up to us with a strange face.

What was wrong with him? He looked…_hungry_.

With every step he took, a small throbbing continued to grow in the back of my head. I ignored it.

"Let her stay for a while, Juichi!" He said, belching out a large laugh. "Maybe we can play—"

"What about our deal?" Juichi said. "You agreed to not—"

"I took no part in that deal. That's something between you and the fox."

"If you so much as touch her," Juichi growled, spinning around to face him, "I will kill you."

Goki laughed loudly again, his eyes glistening with cruelty. "You? Kill me? Have you forgotten who I am?"

I would have asked Juichi what they were talking about if my head hadn't begun to throb painfully. Putting my hand on my head, I stayed silent behind Juichi's tall back.

Juichi grinned, lifting his hand in the space between him and Goki. "Do you know who _I _am?" His fingers cracked awkwardly as he barred his white teeth.

Goki's eyes narrowed in reply before turning his attention to me.

I whimpered, lowering my eyes to avoid his as I leaned on Juichi and held my head.

_What is this __**pain**__? _

It was sharp and stinging. It became worse when Goki looked at me, and even breaking the eye contact did nothing. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Juichi turned his head to look at me as I shook behind him. His eyes were serious and stern as he commanded me to run.

"Go home and stay there where you'll be safe. I'll take care of this guy and talk with you later."

I shook my head quickly, grabbing onto his arm, despite the increasing throbbing of my head. "No! Let's go home together."

"What is up with her?" Goki asked. "Why is she asking like such a—"

Juichi growled at him as the answer to his question became clear.

"Oh…your sister is a _human_?"

I tugged the back of Juichi's shirt, my head now on fire.

"J-Jun-chan…I don't feel good…"

"Goki…" Juichi warned, ignoring my whisper.

"Jun-chan…"

"What's the matter? Scared that I'll hurt her? Even though her _strong_ _brother_ is here?"

"We had a deal." Juichi persisted. "I helped you guys, and you, all of you, don't touch her."

Goki, once again, let out a loud laugh, which didn't help my poor head. "Kurama doesn't speak for me. If I was part of a deal, I'd have had my own say." He took a step closer towards us, and Juichi crouched, eyebrows burrowed. "You should have read the fine print!"

"Onee-san get out of here. _Now_."

Too weak and scared to argue, I stumbled away from the two.

But my knees were weak and I only made it a yard away before I tumbled over. I stood up slowly using a sturdy trunk nearby and continued to make a distance between them and me.

My mind gradually began to clear as I got farther away from them. When I was far enough that I could walk straight again, I turned and hid behind a tree. I wasn't that far; I could still see Juichi and Goki standing in front of each other.

I gasped in shock when Juichi's arms lit with fire, but that was all I could see before the pain suddenly returned to my head and I blacked out.

_Stupid little mouse._

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Mitsuki found Juichi."

Hiei looked at me from the corner of his eye as he turned to look at me. I did not meet his look, but only stared at the girl a few yards ahead who was staring at her brother and Goki through pouring rain.

"I was hoping to keep Goki unaware of the fact that Juichi's sister was human. While I can fight for my mother, Juichi is not as strong."

"Hn." Hiei replied, closing his eyes. "Serves the foolish human right for following him."

He pulled out the Kouma no Ken, one of the stolen artifacts, and flashed a smile. A cruel one, mind you.

"Perhaps she could be the first in our demon army?"

I eyed him tiredly. "I have made an agreement with Juichi that if he helped us with the heist, no harm would come to Mitsuki. I intend to keep my promise."

Hiei returned the sword to its sheath while growling in annoyance. "I don't understand what we needed him for. He slowed us down and thanks to him, we were almost caught on tape."

I looked away, a small shrug on my shoulders. "I thought he was stronger, I suppose."

_In truth, _I thought, _I found myself more confident while doing the crime with a person in a similar situation._

Hiei stared at me, his eyes narrowed. Even if I did block my mind from his telepathic powers, he knew I felt guilt for bringing the innocent in.

And while Hiei was a blood thirsting demon, he was more apathetic than anything.

He jumped down from the branch he had found so comfortable and turned towards Mitsuki. "Let's get this stupid human and erase her memory so that those two stop fighting already. We have plans to discuss."

He began to walk, and I followed.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Goki," I warned him, crouching lower. "Don't do this."

His grin fell as he glared. "Listen kid, I've been waiting for a chance to use this," He held up the Reikai artifact, "but you and Kurama and Hiei keep on calling me for these pointless meetings. Now I can't even use it on the humans, like I'm supposed to?"

"She's my sister!" I screamed, irritated at the giant. He leaned down to my height, his hot breath in my face.

"So?"

"Argh!"

I punched him in the face, only to find it was a bad idea. I took a step back, holding my wrist as my knuckles throbbed in pain. Goki laughed.

"I have the toughest skin…there's no way you can hurt me."

It was my turn to grin at him. "Have you forgotten what my power is?"

I held my hand out, flexing my fingers, and waited for the fire on my palm to spread to my arms. I spread my enflamed arms to either side as I crouched lower, a grin still wide on my face. Goki growled, no longer amused.

"You may be stronger, but I won't let you touch her."

We glared at each other until we were interrupted.

"Juichi stop arguing with Goki and come get your little mouse."

I turned with Goki to see Kurama and Hiei. I quickly paled when I saw Hiei holding Mitsuki over his shoulder. She was knocked out, her usually neat hair now falling out untidily from her ponytail.

"Onee-san!" I screamed, running over to grab her from Hiei. I glared at him as he dropped her into my arms before snarling up at Kurama. "We had a deal!"

He shook his head, bending down to look at Mitsuki. "By the time we got to her, she was unconscious. Hiei merely carried her over."

Kurama reached over to touch Mitsuki, but I quickly pulled her out of reach.

Hiei, unfazed by my glares, pulled out the Kouma no Ken, one of the stolen Reikai artifacts. He began to slash the trees, turning them into demons, as Goki lifted the Gakidama to collect souls. I kept my glare solely on Kurama as he stayed back in the shadows of a tree.

Hiei laughed evilly. "Yes…this is wonderful! We should go to the next big town and make a demon army!"

Goki chided along with him. "I like the way you think Hiei. And if we can teach them to eat souls I know how we can feed them all—the Gakidama!"

"And once the moon is full, we can use Kurama's weapon and gain complete control!"

I shut my eyes tight; listening to these blood thirsting demons drove me nearly insane.

"I don't care what you do—just leave us alone! I did what you asked so don't involve me anymore!"

As I glared, Kurama lowered his eyes to the ground. "Yes, it is as you say. You have done your part…you are free to go." He stood from under the darkness, his eyes alert yet calm.

"But I am afraid that I too must withdraw from this alliance."

"What?" Hiei asked, taking a step forward. "What is that supposed to mean? Surely you're not dropping out of the game when we've come this far?"

Kurama's eyes gazed level with Hiei's for a moment. "Yes."

"You coward!" Hiei screamed. "Your years of hiding in this world have made you just like them! Spineless and ready to be destroyed!"

"I don't care if he leaves, but he's got no right to the loot!" Goki said, putting the Gakidama in his pocket again before reaching out towards Kurama. "Hand over the pretty little mirror!"

"I can't." Kurama said, his face emotionless. "I have great need for it myself."

Goki paused, a small smile on his face. "Alright…then I'll punch it out of you!" He lifted his arm to attack, his face exposing his demon inside, but only got so far before being interrupted.

"Howdy neighbors!"

My head turned so fast that I had to hold it for a moment.

"Couldn't help but notice there's no rain falling here!" He grinned. "Maybe next time you go stealing magical toys you should hide where it isn't so obviously sunny...just a tip."

I focused on the guy in front of me; he had chestnut brown eyes and slicked back black hair, and he wore a green jumpsuit and brown shoes. He smelled like a human yet he stood confidently even though he was surrounded by demons.

I took the moment to pick Mitsuki up and jump back from the group. Hiei and Goki spared me a glare while Kurama glanced at me. He spoke to me telepathically.

_Run._

I blinked, surprised. He turned, revealing a slightly guilty expression.

_I will not back out of my deal, I will insure that Mitsuki is safe. Should you require it, I am willing to erase her memory of this whole ordeal._

~…*…*…*…*…~

I have to admit, I didn't expect all of these demons to be so small. The guy that I had followed matched my imagination just right, but the red headed chick and the midget didn't fit as well.

Not to mention the little kid holding an unconscious girl.

I turned my attention to the snarling shrimp.

"Who are you and how do you know about the artifacts?"

The big guy lowered his head. "Give us your name."

I confidently threw my thumb up. "Thank you, I'd hope you'd ask. Boys, the name's Uremeshi Yusuke, and I'm a spirit detective."

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Spirit detective?" Goki quoted.

"Don't worry, he's just one of Koenma's fools." Hiei grinned. "He must have been the only human they could round up; his spirit energy is pathetic."

Kurama turned and began to walk away.

"Hey! Where're you goin'?" The spirit detective asked, pointing his finger at Kurama.

Kurama gave me one last warning glance before he walked away.

"Sorry, I don't have time to be arrested."

"Stop Kurama!" Hiei growled. "You can't just walk out on our plan!" Hiei jumped after him, and I realized that Kurama was giving me time to escape.

I picked up Mitsuki quickly and jumped a distance, hearing Yusuke complain about how we had left.

"Hey wait you guys! Don't leave yet, I just got here!"

I shook my head as I ran. He didn't know how lucky he was that we did.

~…*…*…*…*…~

Thanks to **xenocanaan** and **Twiisted'Colors** for reviewing the last chapter! :3 And thank you for reading! The next chapter should be up by the 30th! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Bwahahaha I can't wait for the next one!


	4. Chapter 4

The day after Kurama dropped out of the alliance, I was avoiding Mitsuki, who seemed to still remember yesterday even though I had tried to erase her memory.

I decided to spend the afternoon by finding the spirit detective. He wasn't hard to find once you got his scent; it smelled like a mix of human blood and Goki.

Ew.

I found him at a worn apartment complex. His mother, who wore a dirty T-shirt and jeans, gladly let me in as soon as I asked for Yusuke.

I walked into his room, surprised to see one of Koenma's grim reapers sipping tea with the guy.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise." I whistled, my hands in my pockets. "The spirit detective has a grim reaper for a girlfriend!"

Yusuke snapped his head up, spitting tea in the blue haired girl's face.

"Holy!" He wiped his mouth off with his sleeve as he stood up.

"Yusuke!" The pink eyed apparition whined as she wiped the tea out of her eyes. "You spit on me!"

As Yusuke silently glared at me (and ignored his whining friend), I noticed that he had been beaten up pretty bad.

"You'll never be able to defeat Hiei if you can't even take on Goki."

Yusuke, taking a hit to his pride, lowered his head to glare with more intensity while switching the topic. "I thought you guys _didn't _want to be found. So why the hell are you coming to my place?"

I shook my hands in the air, realizing that he was taking offense. "I—"

"Ah!" The grim reaper pointed at me. "It's Juichi!"

I lowered my head, sighing. "Yes, I was getting to that—"

"Botan why is he here? Did you somehow convince him to surrender?" Yusuke asked her.

So her name was Botan? Cute.

"No way! He must be up to something!"

"Actually, I came here to ask for your help." I said quickly. "In return I will help you defeat Goki."

The two stared at me, still stiff and waiting. I sighed again.

"You don't understand…I didn't steal the Reikai artifacts—"

Botan dove to cover my mouth right as Yusuke's mom came around the corner. Botan laughed as his mom raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh, this is R-Reikai Juichi, my…my cousin! He's shy so he doesn't like people to know is last name since it's so weird." She forced me to bow, and I played along with a shy smile.

"Please excuse me for not having introduced myself before!"

Whatever suspicions his mother had faded as she smiled down at me. "Oh! Well, Juichi-kun, would you like some tea?"

"Oh, yes please!"

She left as I turned and I sighed along side of Botan.

She quickly moved back to Yusuke's side, still carefully watching me. I rustled my hair as I sat down at the table.

"I didn't have a choice." I said. "It was either I helped them…or they hurt my older sister."

Both of their eyebrows raised in surprise and they sat down to listen to my story.

"I am a demon, not that you couldn't guess," I said, "but what you don't know is that my sister—the girl I was holding yesterday—is a human."

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Augh!" I rolled in bed, my hands rustling my hair in frustration. It's a good thing I stayed home today because I would not have been able to focus in school.

"This makes no sense! It didn't happen…it couldn't have!"

Juichi's arms had not been lit on fire. And that Goki guy did not call himself a demon.

No way. None of it happened!

I stopped rolling in my bed as I stared aimlessly across my room.

_But it seemed so real…and that pain that I suddenly felt…that was too excruciating to be a dream!_

I buried my head into my pillow and discovered that I was exhausted.

I drifted off…into a not so peaceful dream.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"What do you mean she's supposed to be a demon?" I asked, crossing my arms as I stared at the middle school demon.

Yeah right, and I was a genie in a bottle! A human meant to be a demon—preposterous!

He looked at me, his eyes narrowed. "I mean exactly what I say. Mitsuki was bred by our demon father and carried in our demon mother's womb. But she was born a human."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" I exclaimed, leaning forward. "Two demons make a demon—it's as simple as that!"

Juichi glared at me, annoyed. I shut my mouth quickly and he turned to look at Yusuke.

"Even the Reikai cannot understand how things like this happen." He crossed his arms as he closed his eyes. "But it did. Our demon blood gave birth to a human."

~…*…*…*…*…~

"But if she were really a human born amongst demons," Botan said slowly, an eyebrow raised, "wouldn't she have been killed by now?"

I lowered my eyes, nodding slowly.

"That's where I come in."

I lifted my hand and snapped my fingers to create a spark of fire. "You see, we used to live with our people, a tribe of fire demons."

I trailed off for a moment, dazed in my reflection in the tea as I flicked the spark out. "I was born two years after Mitsuki. Back then, no one noticed that Mitsuki was a human since she was so young. We grew up together, close to each other…"

I shook my head and twirled the tea cup lightly. "But as we grew older, our tribe began to notice that while I could play with fire at the age as early as two, Mitsuki screamed and ran from the mere sight of it at age four. They became suspicious, discovered Mitsuki to be human, and deemed my mother a human-loving whore before shunning our family."

I looked up at Yusuke and Botan's shocked expressions.

"Yeah, that's what we thought, too. But it only got worse."

~…*…*…*…*…~

_I floated above a barren land where only a couple of poorly built clay houses stood. _

"_Where am I?" I asked myself, looking down at the houses._

_Outside of one of these houses sat a little brunette girl of maybe seven or eight with dull brown eyes. Children ran a distance from her, occasionally asking her to come play before scolding her for standing._

"_Never mind, you're a human!" They chimed before snickering and returning to their game. The little girl sat down again, sighing lightly._

"_We are shunned because of you."_

_A woman and man stood behind her. She turned to look up at them, seemingly used to her tone. "Mama—"_

"_Do not call me your mother!" The woman screamed. "You are not mine…I am a demon! I am no human lover!"_

_She kicked the small child, who took the punishment silently._

"_We should kill her." The man, her father, said. _

_The woman hugged him tightly, glaring down at the motionless adolescent. "Yes, I will call the elders tonight. She can be used as a sacrifice, and then maybe we can redeem our ancestors' pride."_

_When the two adults disappeared into the house again the girl sat up. Blood dripped off her lip but she made no motion to wipe it off._

"_Mitsuki?"_

_Hazel eyes of her younger brother stared at the her as he wiped the blood off of her lip._

_I stared from above in horror. "That…that's…"_

_The girl looked at him, her face suddenly brightening up. "I'm okay, Juichi."_

"_That's…me?"_

~…*…*…*…*…~

"They were going to kill their own kid?" Yusuke snapped, his fist hitting the wall. "That's just messed up!"

Botan tried to calm him down.

"That's just how it is in the demon world, Yusuke! Humans are seen as weak creatures; to be related to one is mockery to those related to you."

I nodded, leaning back onto my hands. "I, however, wasn't ashamed."

The two calmed down and returned their attention to me.

"I loved Mitsuki and couldn't understand why our parents had stopped simply because she was a human." I closed my eyes, snarling. "I became angry and began to plot Mitsuki's rescue."

~…*…*…*…*…~

_I covered my mouth with my hands, tears streaming down my cheeks as I watched my younger self._

_The poor girl, me, was going to be a sacrifice tonight._

_And so was Juichi, if he kept hold of her hand._

"_Run, Mitsuki!"_

_She was tugged repeatedly by the hazel eyed boy. Her eyebrows were burrowed._

"_D-don't do this, Juichi! They'll kill you too!"_

_Screeches rang in the air, getting closer. But Juichi kept pulling her hand._

_The two had been running for a while; it seemed like it had been hours. I could see the demons behind them—they were getting closer. _

_Her breath was short and wheezing; it was obvious that she wasn't used to running at Juichi's speed. _

_I knew, and I think the younger me knew, too, that they would catch her. _

"_Go back!" She commanded her, and my, younger brother. "Save yourself! They'll forgive you!"_

"_It's not fair though!" Juichi said, choking on his own tears as he looked back at her. "Why are they trying to kill you? It's not your fault you're a human!"_

"_Juichi…" She tripped, Juichi's hand slipping from hers._

_I let out a gasp, my hand squeezing my cheeks tightly._

_She stretched after him as he skidded to a stop._

"_Get up, Mitsuki!" He cried, the tears finally falling. "You have to get up!"_

_Arms wrapped around Juichi and cackles surrounded us. She screamed as Juichi struggled to get free._

"_Let me go! Let me go!"_

"_Shut up, you little fool!" The demon holding him hissed. "You should be glad your 'sister' is a sacrifice—you'll be rid of her and your family's shame for good!"_

_Ten, maybe fifteen, demons surrounded them. She looked to her sides repeatedly, I'm sure her heart was racing like mine._

"_Run, Mitsuki!" Juichi screamed. "Run!"_

_She got up to her feet and looked for an opening. I knew from my point of view that she was trapped. She looked at Juichi through tears. "I can't! They've surrounded us!"_

"_Die human!"_

_I cried, covering my eyes as the younger me was slashed in the back._

_She didn't scream, only small gasps came from her mouth. I opened my tearful eyes again._

_Juichi must have been dropped by the demon, because he fell down on his knees and shook her bloody shoulder._

"_Mitsuki!" He called. "Get up, Mitsuki!"_

_She rolled her eyes up to see his face, and tried her best to smile through wheezes._

"_You…are you okay?" She whispered._

_He nodded quickly, biting his lip as tears poured down. _

"_Now, now…" She said gently, closing her eyes, "how can you protect me…if you cry like that?"_

_He lowered his head. "Don't go to sleep, Mitsuki! You'll die!"_

"_It's alright." She smiled lifelessly. "Besides, I think that I'll fit in a little bit better…where I'm going to…"_

"_Mitsuki, no! Don't leave me!"_

_I began to sob, shaking my head left and right violently as I took useless steps back. "I don't want to see anymore of this! When will I wake up? I want to wake up!"_

_Juichi and the other demons vanished, but my younger self's body remained. She slowly stood up, still bearing the gash on her back._

_She smiled as she lifted her finger towards me. I took another step back. "This isn't a dream."_

"_W…what?"_

_Blood dripped from her outstretched finger as she revealed red teeth._

"_This isn't a dream!" She said it so merrily. "Look at your back!"_

_I blinked, tears still rolling down, as I turned my head to look over my shoulder._

_I found I wasn't wearing a shirt anymore as I looked down at my shoulder. My bloody shoulder._

_I screamed as I saw the red staining my skin. I stretched my neck to try and look at the rest of my backside, and could see the beginning of a cut on my back. I didn't have to see it to know that it was like my younger self's gash._

"_G-get it off!" I screamed, wiping my back in attempts to do it myself. My hands only came back drenched in blood. _

_It was warm._

_I looked at the little girl, my mouth hanging open. Her smile had widened even more as she looked at me._

"_It will never go away. Look in a mirror and you'll see what I mean…"_

_She disappeared and everything went black._

~…*…*…*…*…~

I sat up, taking deep breaths as I gathered my surroundings.

Back in my room. No demons, no little Juichi crying and most importantly, no little me with a giant gash on her back.

I let go of my blanket so that I could check for blood on my hands.

They were ghastly pale, not red and bloody. That was good enough for me.

I sighed in relief as I stepped out of bed. "That wasn't a dream…?"

True, it had felt real, but nothing like that could happen in real life.

_This is not a dream…_

Then what was it?

_Look in the mirror and you'll see what I mean…_

I dared to cross over to my mirror and looked at my reflection.

Pale, pale, pale.

"I don't get it…" I said lightly before turning. I turned to look at the mirror again, to double check that maybe something was on my face, but stopped to stare at my back.

_It will never go away. Look in the mirror and you'll see what I mean._

My eyes widened as I reached my hand into my shirt and down my shoulder blade. I could feel the course skin towards the middle of my back. My hand froze as my eyes widened.

A scar.

I covered my mouth as I fell to the floor. I felt sick.

"That…that wasn't a dream…it was a memory!"

So many questions were buzzing through my mind. Why didn't I remember any of this? Where did we used to live? How did I not notice this scar until now?

I knew just who to ask.

Changing into a hoodie and jeans, I bolted out of the house with my phone in my pocket.

I needed to find Juichi.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Wow."

That was some messed up stuff to go through at the age of six. I couldn't imagine how Mitsuki felt about it.

"But…if Mitsuki's dead…then—how?" Botan began. Juichi looked at her as if he had been expecting the question.

"Then how is she alive now?" Juichi finished her question. She nodded. "Before Mitsuki took her last breath…I gave her some of my life energy."

Botan gasped loudly, and I looked between the two.

"Life energy?" I asked. "Is that like spirit energy?"

Botan turned to me, her finger raised for explanation. "Spirit energy is a replenishable resource that is used for the body's defense. But life energy is what keeps you alive and can't be recycled. Once you lose it it's gone…for _good_."

I turned my stare back to Juichi and crossed my arms with a grunt. "You must love your sister a lot then." If life force was really that important, any man who gave up some of his to save a loved one was good in my book.

Juichi stared at the table, nodding with a smile. "Yeah, I do."

I sat with Botan, staring at the twelve year old. Botan spoke first (surprise, surprise).

"But…does Mitsuki know about all of this?"

Juichi tensed, shaking his head. "No…I erased her memory when we came to the human world. Our parents agreed to raise her like a normal human girl as long as I protected the family."

He lowered his head into his hands. "I erased her memory last night…but the look of fear that she gave me this morning…she must remember something."

I wasn't one to pity, but this kid's story was pathetic. Maybe he wasn't too bad of a guy after all—if his story was true, that is.

"So what do ya want?"

He looked at me, confused. "You know, in exchange for helping us defeat Goki?"

He returned his gaze to the table though his expression turned from kind to bitter.

"All I want is for you to defeat those three fools and make Kurama pay for what he has done to my sister." He slammed his fist on table, his eyes dark. "She will never have a normal life now…and it's Kurama's fault."

Yeah…pretty sure his story was legit.

"You should stay the night." Botan suggested. I glared at her.

"Well don't worry Botan, this is definitely your house so feel free to invite demons to sleep over. Anytime!"

I rolled my eyes as she explained her reasoning. "He's got information on all of the demons we're looking for! We could use his help when we go looking for Goki and the others!"

I turned my head to Juichi, an eyebrow raised. "Well what do you say? I know you've got your sister to worry about."

Juichi looked at me, as if he's been struck in the heart. He avoided eye contact, but nodded. "I'll stay."

~…*…*…*…*…~

It got dark. Juichi wasn't home, and he wasn't at any of the usual places that I thought I could find him at.

_I should have known better, though…with all of this demon business going on, he's probably with Goki and the others…_

My eyes widened. "Wait…whenever I got near Goki, my head got all fuzzy and hot…"

_So if I go around and search for him…_

I darted forward. "I'll find Jun-chan!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Goki what happened to the artifact?"

Goki, who had called me telepathically with the last of his strength, was looking up at me pitifully. He couldn't speak—he'd been blasted in the mouth after all. But that didn't stop me from getting the information I needed.

_The spirit detective's got it…_

"What? How did that happen? He's a mere human!"

_That's what I thought…but he's got Juichi helping him._

I growled as I looked up into the sky, cursing Kurama. This was all of his fault for feeling human guilt.

_Hiei—_

"I'm done with you." I snapped, taking a step back. "I'll let the Reikai deal with you."

They would be here any minute to pick him up and do whatever they wanted. I could see Goki struggle to reach his hand out to me before pitifully lowering it back down to the ground. He fell unconscious.

I hissed quietly, jumping away from Goki's body. If I didn't get that artifact back all of my plans would be ruined.

I knew that they would get to Kurama before I did—I had seen the look on his face before he left us. He planned to turn it over as soon as he was finished with it. He wouldn't let me find him.

_I don't need Goki or Kurama…I just need the artifacts!_

~…*…*…*…*…~

I held my head as I reached a clearing. I sighed, frustrated.

I had spent all day searching for Goki, using my head as my guide. It was hard though, since I had to be pretty close to Goki in order to feel him.

I was tired, but I tried one last place—the place I had been avoiding: the forest where Juichi's arms lit on fire.

Even though I had this rush of old memories of living with demons, I couldn't make myself suddenly be okay with it. Coming here made me shake no matter how hard I tried to calm myself down.

But I made myself continue, because there was a tingle at the back of my head. Goki was close.

I continued to walk around the forest, turning in a new direction only when the feeling got stronger.

And then, it all disappeared.

"I just don't get it…where did the pain go?"

~…*…*…*…*…~

I jumped quickly into a nearby tree, startled to hear a voice behind me. I watched Juichi's human come into view.

How did _she _sneak up on _me_?

She was holding her head as she entered the clearing. "God! I've been searching all day and night, and I thought I had finally found him!"

She gasped, her eyes laying on Goki. "Oh my god!" She covered her mouth, taking a step back. "I-is he dead?"

I watched her as she stared fearfully. And then, I got an idea and smirked widely.

Oh yes, this would work just fine.

"You're Juichi's sister, correct?" I asked, dropping down behind her.

She jumped up, having been reaching for Goki, and turned around to see who was behind her. She stared at me nervously but answered my question with a nod.

"Are you…another friend?"

I chuckled coldly. "Frankly, it doesn't matter."

~…*…*…*…*…~

I walked home alone and Yusuke and Botan went to go find Kurama and Hiei, now that they had defeated Goki and knew more about the other two.

I decided that it was finally time to go home and face Mitsuki.

Botan added that she was only letting me go so that I could protect Mitsuki until the artifacts had been regained.

"Then," She had said with a slight glare, "we will come for you. Don't run, because I know how to find you."

I touched my sore cheek; after replying with a pick up line, the grim reaper had introduced me to her oar.

I dropped my hand, my small grin fading away as well.

I had no intention of running away. Once I ensured Mitsuki's safety after all of this was over, I would be happy to hand myself over.

I stared at the sky, wondering how Mitsuki was and what she remembered. I didn't really understand how she remembered something in the first place, but it had been written all over her face that she knew something "unnatural" was happening.

I turned a corner, pulling my phone out to check my messages for distraction. Mom always got on me for not picking up when I needed to anyway.

I found sixteen missed calls from Mitsuki.

And that was why I needed to check my phone more often.

My mouth dropped open as I stopped abruptly and quickly pushed the phone to my ear. There were two voicemails left.

"Jun-chan?"

Mitsuki's voice was hushed but the horror rang loud and clear.

"Jun-chan, p-please pick up! I've b-been kidnapped—"

Her end shut off, and I quickly listened to the next message. Sweat was rolling down my chin.

"He's got another girl too—her name is Keiko…we are h-hostages, he says, and he's going to…he's going to—"

She sobbed for a moment but calmed herself.

"He's going to kill us!"

There was a shuffle, a "what do you think you're doing?" and then silence.

The message wasn't over.

"I love how humans think that demons can't hear them." Hiei chuckled coldly from the other end.

"Since I can't get to Kurama," He said, "I'm getting to you. Bring Kurama with you to this exact location tomorrow or your precious human dies."

He directed me somewhere near the docks and hung up, as simple as that. I slowly lowered the phone as I stared at it.

"Damn you Hiei!" I threw the phone on the ground, crushing it with my foot. How the hell was I supposed to find Kurama by tomorrow? He could be anywhere!

People watched me, startled, as I stomped away from my crushed phone and over to a bench. I pulled my hair, choking back tears.

"Onee-san…" I covered my face, rubbing my eyes, and stood up again.

"_Jun-chan…he said he's going to kill us!"_

"Not if I can help it."

I dashed down the street—I didn't know where to start, but I had to find Kurama. Hiei was not going to kill my sister.

~…*…*…*…*…~

Am I on a roll, or am I on a roll? GAH this chapter was so fun to write (not in a funny way but you get my point). I REALLY can't wait until the next one. I expected this one to be funny but it turned out being pretty depressing…

Oh and, I know this is pathetic, but could someone review and even up the number? I'm so obsessed about these things…omg…pathetic request, I know…but please?

LOL Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you **Twiisted'Colors** and **Delu **for reviewing! :D Much appreciated!

Oh, and just to let you know, **Twiisted'Colors** mentioned that she's doing fanart for Friction! FANART! FOR THIS STORY!

**_Bows_**

I am not worthy! Thank you **Twiisted'Colors!** :3

* * *

I glanced at Juichi's sister, snarling silently as she sat across from Keiko.

It still bothered me that she (a mere human) was able to sneak up on me (demon with the Jagan).

What good was all of that pain I'd gone through if a _mortal_ could still get the better of me?

"W-who are you?" She stifled. Although she had calmed herself down the tremor in her voice was clear.

I grinned menacingly. Once I got the artifacts and my revenge, I was going to kill her anyway.

Or maybe turn her into a demon slave like Yusuke's girlfriend.

"I am Hiei, the demon who is going to make the remainder of your short life a living hell."

~…*…*…*…*…~

Keiko had only woken once during our time together, long enough for me to introduce myself, and then she was unconscious again.

I began to feel weary when I was near her and soon enough a strange knot appeared on her forehead. It bulged like it was a sleeping eye. The bigger it got, the farther away from Keiko I had to get. My head wasn't in flames, but it wasn't exactly a tickle either.

I blamed all of these strange effects on Hiei's sword.

When Hiei cut her with the sword my head started to tingle. The sword itself was weird and gave me a throbbing headache whenever he took it out of its sheath.

The fact that my head hurt more when I looked at it than when I looked into Goki's eyes kept me silent while in Hiei's grasp.

I glared at Hiei, who was sitting on a crate no far from us, knowing that even if my hands weren't tied I wouldn't have tried to touch him. Glaring was as far as I would go, and probably as far as I _could_ go.

Hiei was a demon, he had declared so in his speech. But why he had kidnapped Keiko and I, he didn't say.

I was in no rush to find out. For now, I would just pray that Juichi would come, and that we'd made it out alive.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Kurama!" His head swerved around in surprise, his eyes wide.

"Juichi?"

There he was, sitting down and reading a book in a park while I had spent all night and day searching for him. I dragged myself over and looked around for innocents. The coast was clear, and I grinned.

I had been waiting for this.

I punched him as hard as I could, and if he could have dodged it, he didn't. He fell off the bench, his book skidding to the side.

He sat up, wiping his busted lip as he looked at me. I could read his eyes and it only ticked me off more.

_I deserved that._

"No shit!" I muttered, walking over to him to pull him to his feet. He seemed confused as to why I was helping him up. We both knew I wouldn't be if I didn't have to.

"Because of you, Hiei has taken Mitsuki!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

"What?" I snapped my head up, repeating his words in my head. I quickly calmed down as I pulled my hand to my chin.

Inside my head, though, thoughts were racing.

_This is all my fault, I caused this. Mitsuki may die because of me. How could I have been so careless? What was I thinking?_

"But why…?"

"I don't know!" Juichi snapped. "All he said is that he won't give Mitsuki back until you come with me!"

I looked at the distraught brother, searching his eyes for expected hate. All I could see was worry.

I closed my eyes, stepping forward. "I understand. I'll accompany you."

"You'd better!" Juichi snarled. "Now come on, we only have a few hours to get to her!"

I wiped the dirt my uniform and picked up my book. "Where is she being held?"

"I have Hiei's directions right here on my phone—"

He froze.

I dared to ask. "What's wrong?"

He rubbed the back of his head while chuckling quietly. "I got so angry after Hiei's message that I…kinda crushed the phone…"

I sighed, stroking my bangs. "And you don't remember what he said."

Juichi turned red, whether it was out of embarrassment or anger I'm not sure. "W-well I remember it was somewhere near the docks!"

I turned. "Then let's go. We can't waste anymore time."

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Stop glaring at me, little human, or your time to die will come sooner."

I lowered my eyes to intensify the glare. Not that it helped much. I could feel my eyes trying to tear away.

_Abort! Abort! Abort!_

"W-what does it matter? If you're going to kill me anyway."

The next thing I knew, he was at my throat with the dark sword. My head went ablaze.

"You don't seem to understand the predicament you're in, little girl." He sneered, his hot breath blowing into my face. "With just one cut, I can turn you into a mindless slave. And if I press a little bit harder…"

He pushed the blade on my skin and I yelled in pain.

All the pain in my head flew down to my throat as the sword made contact. It felt like it was burning through my _skin_!

I pushed myself against the wall behind me, my head turned away. "G-get away from me!" I screamed, kicking Hiei's crouched knees. He fell back, his eyes wide with anger and embarrassment.

He quickly pressed the sword to my throat—it was ready to cut. I screamed again as it cooked my skin. Hiei was too angry to notice.

"I'll kill you! You—"

"Get out here Hiei! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

I was pissed off. Who did Hiei think he was, kidnapping Keiko? I'd hang his ass on the wall over my fireplace if I had one!

The door closed behind us, and when we turned to look back in front of us, some guys were limping out from behind crates. They looked like zombies.

"Who the hell are they?" I grunted, crouching slightly. Botan slid from behind me to my side.

"They're normal humans Yusuke…but it seems that Hiei is controlling their minds."

"What?" I asked, turning to gawk at her.

"The records department doesn't know about this…" She said, "For him to be able to possess so many humans at one time—he must have the Jagan!"

I couldn't care less on what the records department knew or what he had. All I cared about was kicking his butt!

We heard his laughter as the wave of humans divided. He stood there, his grin cocky as he held the demonic sword.

"I used my power to round them up this morning. They won't do much against you but they do make nice scenery."

I couldn't help but notice a third eye on his forehead. It was red and creepy. But mostly creepy. "That's some pimple…"

"That's the Jagan, a third eye for the spirit." Botan explained, her eyebrows still burrowed.

~…*…*…*…*…~

_He's eviler than I thought!_

I looked around the corner at Hiei and the new comers, listening to the conversation but still rubbing the rope surrounding my wrists on the corner of a crate.

"Yes!" I whispered, finally managing to undo the bonds on my hands and then my ankles. _At least he used really old rope!_

I took my handkerchief and pulled it around my wounded neck quickly.

The first thing I saw when I walked from behind the wall of crates was Hiei, who was standing with the evil sword in his hand. On his forehead was the eye that I guessed to be the so called Jagan.

The next thing I noticed was Keiko being held by two blue-tone skinned humans. The poor fools holding her didn't know what they were doing.

I looked in front of Hiei and saw a blue haired girl in the same uniform as Keiko, and a brown haired Yankee in a green jumpsuit. He looked ticked.

"What do you plan to do with Keiko?" The guy asked, his fist in the air.

"Nothing more, if you brought me the weapons." Hiei sneered confidently in reply.

I watched as the boy lifted two objects. I recognized one of them to be the orb Goki had once held, and quickly began to edge closer to the four. I knew those things were bad news.

"Oh good boy," Hiei jeered, "Both the Gakidama and the Ankokukyou." He flicked his chin towards the boy.

"You may have her." The two humans holding Keiko dropped her recklessly. I knew that Hiei had them do that on purpose.

"Keiko!" The boy called, running up to her with the other girl.

Meanwhile Hiei gleamed down evilly at the weapons in his hands. "So maybe my plan had a few setbacks, but the end will be all the same. All three ancient weapons of darkness are in my control and those fools in charge will soon be bowing at my feet!"

I stayed where I was, a safe distance from the group, but close enough to jump in if needed.

_Jump in? _I questioned myself. _And what am I going to do when I __**jump in**__?_

I asked myself this question over and over again, but it didn't do much good. I saw Keiko lying there and felt a need to help her if she required my assistance. I stayed a distance to gain an advantage on Hiei if I needed to sneak up on him.

The Yankee grinned towards Hiei. "I would stop bragging. It'll just be more embarrassing for you. Now that I have Keiko I'm going to rip out your _teeth_!"

I looked at Hiei to see his reaction, and moaned lightly in distain.

Smiling Hiei equaled not good. "Try. I'll give you a head start." He mocked.

"You know, that cocky laugh is really starting to piss me off!"

"No!" I squeaked, covering my mouth. Hiei was way too fast for any normal human to keep up with. And sure enough, Hiei disappeared.

"Huh? He vanished!" The Yankee said, looking around.

I saw Hiei land behind him. "I'm still here. I only stepped gently to the side." He smirked. "Was that a real hit? I thought it was a joke, but oh, you're not amused."

The boy glowered at him and Hiei jumped away again. I tried to follow him but I couldn't find him until he landed on a tall stack of crates.

I finally noticed how demonic he looked. He didn't need the Jagan or the demonic sword. All he needed were the two piercing, cold, laughing eyes planted in his head.

~…*…*…*…*…~

This guy was really starting to piss me off. Why was he so goddamn fast?

"As for Keiko,"

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Do you really think I'd relinquish my hostage without the reward?" He glanced down at the brown haired girl. "Look at her closely, Yusuke. You'll see that she's still mine."

"You're lying!" I yelled, running over to Keiko's side.

I saw a giant line on her forehead.

"Am I?" Hiei sneered.

"What is that thing?" I gasped out, staring at it as it opened.

It looked like…an eye?

"I don't understand…how?"

"You may have her body but her future is mine. You see I've struck her with the Kouma no Ken. And once that Jagan eye opens she'll become a demon." He chuckled coldly. "Not a very smart one I'm afraid but perfect as a slave."

I stared at the eye, it was almost wide open!

"Move!" Botan pushed me out of her way and stuck her hand in front of it. I watched as she closed it with her powers. "I'll keep it closed as long as I can, you go beat up Hiei!"

"Yes, you better beat me up quickly if you care about your assistant." Hiei grinned again. "I can feel her precious energy draining fast. A pity. Her poor little body is giving everything it has."

"Soon you'll have a girlfriend that's a demon and an assistant that's dead."

I looked at Botan, my eyes wide. "Is that true?"

"Don't worry about it Yusuke!" She grunted, focusing. "I'll keep it closed as long as I can!"

"Botan…" I grumbled, unsure.

Hiei laughed heartily at our situation. I replied by throwing up my fist.

"Oh that's it!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

The Yankee, Yusuke he had been called, suddenly gained speed. I watched in amazement as he punched Hiei and sent him flying back.

If I was as ticked as him though, I wouldn't be surprised.

Hiei had explained that Keiko would remain a demon if Yusuke didn't give her the antidote—which happened to be in the Kouma no Ken's handle.

That, and he had called getting the antidote a _game_. Just goes to show—don't mess with people's emotions.

He knocked Hiei down again, probably following his voice. Hiei was so cocky that he hadn't realized that speed wasn't the only factor.

Yusuke _had_ warned him to shut up…Hiei thought that humans only had one sense, it seemed. We could hear too.

Hiei dropped the three so-called artifacts on the ground as he crashed into a crate.

_Now!_

I ran towards the artifacts, my mind trying to think of what to do next. I saw Hiei's hand grab the side of the crate and I dove for the artifacts, only managing to grab the Gakidama and the Ankokukyou. The Kouma no Ken was barely out of my reach. I would have stretched for it, but the pain in my head made me throw that idea out the window.

It was too late to try and grab it, Hiei would notice and finish me off. I stayed on the side of the crate, waiting for Hiei to move.

"Consider this a compliment." Hiei hissed. "I've never transformed for a human."

"What?" Yusuke growled, still revealing slight confusion in his voice.

I peeked around the corner to see Hiei's skin suddenly green. Eyes opened all over his body and my head began to tingle. I held my head until the blue haired girl, Botan, gasped from behind me. I turned quickly to see the eye on Keiko's forehead opening wider.

Not good.

"Keiko!" I said in a hushed voice, crawling over to Botan. She opened an eye, hearing me, and seemed shocked that someone else was here.

"M-Mitsuki?" She asked, startled.

I stared back, just as shocked that she knew my name, but she quickly focused again on Keiko. "W-what are you doing here?"

"He kidnapped me too." I slid beside her, looking down at Keiko. The mediocre headache was escalating to a throb. Whatever was happening to her was happening fast. "Is…is there any way I can help her?"

Botan looked to her left and her eyes widened. She looked back at me. "Get the Kouma no Ken and bring it here!" She said quickly in a whisper.

I nodded slowly, knowing the penalty for touching it, but decided there was no other choice. I took the handkerchief off of my neck and wrapped it around my hand.

"Well this is new!" I inched forward as Hiei laughed cruelly, lifting Yusuke up into the air with red rings. "Maybe you could make these things green so that they matched!"

How did he manage to stay so sarcastic?

I stared up in fear until Botan called out to me. "Quickly!"

Hiei laughed. "A joker to the end, aren't you? Maybe my Jagan tie curse needs to get tighter for you to be serious!" He grunted and I could see the effect it had. The rings around Yusuke tightened significantly before I looked away.

I took a breath. _I…I can do this! I have to! Otherwise Keiko will become Hiei's slave forever!_

I reached out for the sword, but it levitated above my head. I quickly jumped up to grab it, only to find that that was a bad idea for two reasons.

One: my hands began to sizzle and burn despite the handkerchief in between.

Two: Hiei was now glaring at me with all of his eyes.

He dropped Yusuke from the air, although the yankee was still in the red rings, and turned to me as he landed on the ground.

"And what do you think you're doing?" He snapped.

My legs began to tremble. All of the pain on my hands went numb as I stared at the approaching demon.

"D…don't come any closer!" I screamed, holding the sword out. He stopped, blinked and then laughed cruelly at me.

"And what are _you_ going to do? That sword will only turn me into a demon—oh wait, I already am one!" He let out another laugh as I took a step back. My heel hit the Gakidama and I turned to look at it.

Finally, my brain started working!

"I-it may not be able to hurt you…" I quickly picked it up and pointed the sword down at it. Hiei's eyes widened. "But I'm sure it can do something to this!"

"No!" Hiei yelled, reaching out for the two demon tools.

I took another step back, glaring nervously at him as I brought the blade closer to the other artifact.

"Don't be stupid, Hiei!" Yusuke called from behind him, grinning. "She can smash your dreams into little pieces before even you get there."

I nodded, moving slowly so that I was in front of Keiko and Botan. "Let him go."

He growled, looking at Yusuke. The red rings snapped off and he immediately stood up. "Way to go Mitsuki!"

I ignored the fact that he also knew my name as he walked over to my side and rested his arm on my shoulder. "What are you going to do now, Hiei?" He taunted.

I looked up at Yusuke, holding the sword out to him. "Take it."

Bad idea.

Hiei took the chance and tore the sword from my hand. He stood in front of us, a vengeful smile on his face.

"Now I will kill both of you!"

He ran towards us, the sword ready to strike. I screamed, covering my face. I heard Yusuke jump in front of me but I only screamed louder.

"Help!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

I made it. And just in time.

Though I would have preferred to have been a little bit earlier so that I didn't have to get stabbed in the stomach.

"Kurama?" Yusuke called my name from behind as he stared at my wound. I ignored him for a moment, cutting my hand on the sword's blade.

Hiei stared at me, shocked. "You really have gone insane!"

I said nothing in reply and instead threw blood into his Jagan eye.

"Argh!" Hiei screamed as he grabbed the Jagan, staggering back. "My Jagan eye!"

I watched him carefully as I spoke to Yusuke. "The eyes on Hiei's body are simply for amplification. Without the Jagan his powers become useless—" A sharp pain ran through my body as I grunted, gritting my teeth.

Yusuke threw his hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

I grinned slightly. "I'm fine. Only a minor hole in my stomach." Ah sarcasm. It never fails.

"You didn't have to do that." He said.

I closed my eyes with a smile. "I am alive only because of you. Please, allow me to pay my debt. Now, you must deal with Hiei. I will try to stop the girl's transformation—"

I turned to him, noticing Mitsuki standing behind with wide, tear filled eyes. She looked down at my stomach, and then up at my face.

"M-Minamino-san?" She asked lightly, her lip trembling. I sighed—this wasn't what I how I had wanted it to happen.

I turned away from the two, looking back at the squirming Hiei. _Juichi, I found them._

We had split up to have better luck in finding Mitsuki. But it seemed that Hiei had more planned than simply getting revenge.

"Mitsuki-san, come behind the crates with me. Your brother will be here shortly."

She, still in shock, only nodded and followed me in silence. I crouched beside Botan and politely nudged her out of the way.

"Let me take care of this."

~…*…*…*…*…~

Suuichi Minamino had been stabbed in the stomach, and then he turned saying that it was a 'only a minor hole in his stomach.'

Was I the only one wondering why he was talking sarcastically when he could very well be _dying_?

How he managed to walk faster than me to Keiko's side I will never know. But he did, and I followed silently, staring at the growing blood stain on his back.

I thought that my hands were hurting—I could only imagine what pain he was going through.

But then he took over whatever Botan had been doing, and closed the eye on Keiko's forehead.

_Oh._ I thought. _He's one of them._

I didn't know what Botan or Suuichi were. They both were able to perform ridiculous things like shooting lightening out of their hands and getting stabbed in the stomach but still being able to walk.

It was all too much for me to take.

I went to hold my head but winced as the pain returned to my hands. My handkerchief had been completely obliterated when I had grabbed the Kouma no Ken earlier so there was nothing I could do but sit it out.

I had long been fighting back a faint, scared that if I did I would never wake up. But it sounded really good right now, to not wake up.

"Onee-san!"

My eyes widened as I looked up. All of my thoughts disappeared. "Jun-chan!"

He wrapped his arms around me as he dove down. Both my burnt neck and hands struggled to not be touched but I wrapped my arms around him anyway. "Jun-chan…you're here!"

I quickly began to sob as he separated from me. His eyes were wide when he looked at my neck. "What…what did he _do_ to you?"

I smiled lightly, unable to hear the question. That faint that I thought sounded good? Yeah, it was coming. I closed my eyes and leaned on Juichi's chest.


	6. Chapter 6

My hands didn't hurt and neither did my throat. I began to think that maybe I hadn't woken up from my faint after all. But then my lungs reminded me that I needed to breathe.

I took a deep breath, my eyes shooting open as I remembered all the events that had occurred. I traced my surroundings, praying that a certain three eyed demon wouldn't be there.

Nope. Just my room, with Juichi asleep in the chair next to me, Botan sitting on the windowsill, and Suuichi sitting at my desk reading a book.

Wait. What?

"Ah, you've awaken." Suuichi had looked up from his book, blinking innocently with a smile.

I paled, sitting up as he stood and revealed that there was no hole in his stomach.

"You…you…" I silenced myself as he walked towards me.

"Juichi is taking a nap as you can see. He stayed up all night treating your wounds and making sure you were alright." He sat on the edge of the bed and I pulled my knees up to my chest. "Is there anything I could get you? I have herbs that can help relieve pain, if you are sore."

I stared at his stomach in silence as Botan quickly came to my other side. "You must be thirsty! I'll go get some water!"

She smiled so happily—was she used to boys getting stabbed and girls almost being turned into demons?

She left the room and Suuichi calmly waited until my attention was on him again. "How do you feel? You slept for a whole day."

"I…I…" I felt like a broken record; that was all I could say.

"Your wounds are healing," Suuichi continued although I had not answered his question, "they should be good as new, as long as you use these herbs I have been treating them with. There should be minimum scarring."

I didn't reply, and he sighed lightly.

"I understand that you must be confused," Suuichi reached for my bandaged hand, and I finally found my voice.

"Please don't touch me!"

Juichi shot up from his chair, still dazed, until he realized that it was my voice that had awoken him. "Onee-san!"

"What is going on?" I asked, standing up and grabbing Juichi's arm. I pointed at Suuichi. "Last time I checked, h-he had a hole in his stomach!"

He seemed surprised at my outburst, but then slightly amused. "Yes, it does seem a little odd that it has healed in only twenty four hours, doesn't it?"

I stared at him, my mouth dropped.

Something in my brain snapped. This was too much stress.

"Are…are you being _sarcastic_?" I asked, leaning towards him. "You're being sarcastic…about being stabbed in the stomach?"

He nodded, a small smile on his face as he chuckled. "Laughter is the best medicine."

"Y-you _must_ be a demon…" I muttered, staring in disbelief. There was a small tingle in the back of my head as I realized this. My eyes widened as I recognized this feeling, but it went away when I took a step back.

"I got some water!" Botan chirped, skipping into the room. I pointed at her, my mind still in a frenzy.

"And what about you?" I looked up at Juichi. "Is she a demon too?"

I didn't wait for an answer. "Argh! Why is this happening?" I rustled my hair with a hand as they stared.

They thought I was the crazy one…well, at least I wasn't a demon!

"O-Onee-san, calm down…" Juichi said, patting my shoulder with a nervous smile.

"Calm down?" I asked slowly, turning to him with another glare. "I've recovered memories of living in some demon world and discovered my younger brother to be a demon. I've been kidnapped by an evil guy with three eyes, and seen Suuichi Minamino get stabbed in the stomach—and then joke about it!" I sent Suuichi a glare as he chuckled.

"You want me to _calm down_? I think I have the right to go crazy!"

He rubbed the back of his head as Botan and Suuichi giggled at me.

"Demons are giggling at me and I don't feel good…I need to be alone right now." I stomped weakly over to the closet.

"Onee-san, what are you doing?"

Juichi knew very well what I was doing. Every time I got mad or scared when I was a kid, I did this.

"Onee-san…" He warned, taking a step forward. "Don't do it…"

Botan and Suuichi equally wore a confused look now as I stepped into the closet.

Juichi dove for the door but I locked it behind me. There was a loud bang from the other side, probably Juichi's head hitting the door. I crossed my arms.

"I'm not coming out until you all leave!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

I take it back. I take back every single thing that I said about Mitsuki being plain.

She just needed some motivation, is all.

"Open this door!" Juichi called, banging on the door. When he got no reaction, he kicked the door in anger before crossing his arms and turning away. "Would you stop being so immature?"

She opened the door for a split moment to smack Juichi across the back of his head with a stuffed animal she must have found in the back of the closet. As he turned, rubbing his head, she slammed the door closed again. He tugged the knob with all his might.

"_Onee-san!_"

"Mitsuki-san?" I called lightly to the closet door, trying to contain laughter as I sat on the edge of the bed. "Please come out. We didn't mean to startle you."

"Leave me alone!" She yelled. "I'm not coming out!"

"This is not normal…" She mumbled, "Suuichi Minamino—the cutest and smartest guy in Tokyo—is a demon too. I could have handled Jun-chan, I had time to think about him..."

There was an unusually loud bang on her side. "But seeing Minamino-san get stabbed—and then the next day completely healed—this is insane!"

"Just think about it, Mitsuki-san," I said, allowing a chuckle, "I'm a demon right? So it's normal for me to heal faster than humans. There is no need to get so worked up about this."

She was silent as Botan and Juichi leaned forward, their ears on the door. "Mitsuki…?"

The door opened, slamming Botan and Juichi back. They both yelped, grabbing their cheeks in pain as Mitsuki stomped over to me.

I stared at her, trying hard not to laugh. What a lively expression she wore when she got confused.

"_You_…you are a messed up person, you know that?" She mumbled, her eyes burrowed.

"Technically, I'm not a person at all." I said, raising my index finger with a smile.

She suddenly tensed and took a step back from me while holding her head. I raised my eyebrow, about to ask what was wrong, when Juichi started yelling at her from the floor.

"Why didn't you warn us that you were going to open the door?"

"Why were you in front of the door?" Mitsuki spat back, walking over to him to help him up.

He took her hand carelessly, and she let him. I held my forehead as she shrieked in pain, letting Juichi drop on the floor again.

"I'm sorry!" Juichi said, quickly standing up to nervously fidget around her hands. She stared at her shaking hands, now serious.

"It will take a while for them to heal." I explained, standing up. "You are a human with wounds from unusual sources—your body doesn't know how to react to it."

She blinked at her hands, and then looked up at me to blink more. She walked towards the corner if the room and stood there, staring down at her hands.

Then she started to take the bandages off.

We all charged quickly up to her to stop her but she lifted a half un-bandaged hand. Botan looked away with a small gasp as Juichi and I solemnly looked at her.

"Why did this happen?" She asked in a small whisper. "All I did was touch a sword."

~…*…*…*…*…~

I stared down at my hand—it was active but slightly stiff. My palm was charred and parts of it were peeling. I didn't want to see what my neck looked like.

"Why did this happen?" I asked quietly. "All I did was touch a sword."

A demonic sword. My eyes widened.

When Hiei had transformed, I felt the tingle in the back of my head. When Keiko was transforming into a demon, I had to get away. My head snapped up as I looked at Suuichi. When I realized that he was a demon too, there was a tingle in the back of my head.

It returned as he stepped closer to me. My breath became short as sweat fell on my face.

But it didn't make sense. If I reacted to demonic energy, why didn't I react to Juichi?

I turned to my brother and grabbed his face in my hands.

Nothing.

I sighed in relief, lowering my hands as I lowered my gaze.

I could still touch my brother.

Juichi stared at me in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" I whispered, sitting back down on my bed. "I'm just confused…and I don't understand everything completely."

I looked up at Juichi and patted beside me. "I'm sure there's a lot that you have to tell me…but can we start with where we really come from?"

"Oh!" Botan squeaked, raising her hand. "I don't think that it will matter!"

We looked at her with surprised eyes. Juichi leaned towards her. "What do you mean?"

"I have to erase her memory!" She said simply. "It's standard procedure!"

"But what about her hands?" Suuichi asked, turning to face her all the way. "Surely there is no cover for that."

She shrugged. "I have to get my energy back from saving Keiko, it'll probably take a week. But after that I can easily heal her wounds and erase her memories."

"I fail to see how this is fair." Suuichi mumbled, looking at me.

But I had long stopped listening, and was now holding my head.

Memories took over my mind as I lost focus. Everything blurred and faded into another time.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"_You can do it, can't you? Erase my memory."_

_There I was again. A younger me. She had grown a little bit more though (around ten or eleven), and it seemed that she had moved to the human world and the house I now lived in._

_They sat in the backyard, Juichi staring with bug eyes as she pulled roots from the ground._

"_What?" Juichi asked quietly. "Mitsuki…why do you want to forget—"_

"_Please…" She whispered, "Don't ask anything…I just want a fresh start. To not remember all of the problems I've caused for Mama and Papa and you."_

_She looked at Juichi, tears falling silently. "I don't understand who I am, or what I am. I'm not a demon and I'm not human. I want to be normal!"_

_As she sobbed into her hands Juichi looked away._

_My eyes widened as I watched his saddened expression._

"…_alright. I'll do it."_

_A smile. Such an empty smile was on her face. "Thank you, Juichi."_

_He stretched his hand out to touch her forehead, and stared at those empty eyes. _

"_I'll give you human memories to replace the ones you lose…and put an illusion on your back..." His eyes filled with tears, "so that you never have to see that scar again."_

_She smiled up at him again, still empty. "I'd appreciate that, Juichi."_

_He pushed her forehead and she fell back into the grass, tears tracing the bridge of her nose and her cheeks._

_When she awoke, Juichi was holding her head in his lap._

"_Mitsuki?" He mumbled, trying to smile._

_She sat up, rubbing her eyes before looking at Juichi with puffed cheeks._

"_What's this Mitsuki business? I'm your older sister! Call me Onee-san!"_

_Juichi seemed shocked before he looked away. _

_He wore such a pained expression before he looked back at her with a smile._

"_Right…sorry, Onee-san."_

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Mitsuki!"

I dove on top of her as she began to seizure. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and saliva fell down her cheek.

"What's happening?" Suuichi asked in alarm, stepping beside me.

"How should I know?" I snapped before looking back at her. "She must be remembering again. Can you hear me? Mitsuki! Onee-san!"

This is what I had brought upon my sister—a life of lies and pain.

She stopped as quickly as she had begun. Her eyes rolled back into place and slowly she gained consciousness.

I pulled her into my arms as I sighed. She took deep breaths of air as she looked up at me with tears streaking down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry…" She whispered through sniffles.

I blinked, taken aback. What had she seen?

She looked towards me for forgiveness, her hands tightly wrapped around mine. I smiled lightly, stroking her bangs. "Mitsuki…it's alright."

I held her as she wept in silence, Botan and Suuichi standing off to the side.

~…*…*…*…*…~

"Isn't there a loophole or something?" Juichi begged Botan. "Isn't there something you can tell Koenma, so that she doesn't have to get her memories erased?"

She shook her head quietly. "She is a human who was involved against her will. Her memory must be erased of all demon related subjects."

Juichi's eyes grew fierce as he stepped towards Botan. "This is just not right. She was born in the Makai—she deserves to keep her original memories, as well as these recent ones!"

"What?" I asked in alarm. Juichi and Botan turned to me as I stepped between the two of them. "What do you mean she was born in the Makai?"

"Oh I forgot," Botan said, blinking, "you don't know."

Botan and I had escorted Juichi and Mitsuki back from the docks without asking questions. Now, though, I felt that I deserved to know more.

"Mitsuki is a human born from demon blood." Botan said.

I turned to look at the sleeping girl with surprised eyes.

I had assumed too much. By comparing Juichi to myself I had presumed that Mitsuki had no such biological relationship to his demon self. But that obviously wasn't the case.

Juichi explained the rest to me—how they had come from a Yako**(1)** tribe, how they had tried to kill Mitsuki—everything.

I turned back to look at Juichi. "Did you ever consider that that could have had side effects? A human born from demon blood could never be normal."

Juichi seemed enraged by my words. He thrust his face in mine as he stood on his toes. "Thanks to you, she will never have that opportunity."

Botan pulled him away from me and forced him to sit. He lowered his head into his hands, pulling back his hair. I stared down at him, my eyes apathetic.

Giving a human demonic energy could never end well. It was a miracle itself that she hadn't died from it.

"It was either that or I lost her." He glared at me. "And there is no way I would ever allow Mitsuki to die in my arms."

"Well," I said, turning away from him, "this explains the burns."

I looked down at Mitsuki, who had rolled to her other side. "…I have a probable theory."

Botan and Juichi looked at me, expectant.

"What if she is subconsciously using the demonic energy to protect herself?" I offered.

They seemed a little confused.

"The demonic energy acts like a radar." I said. "She can feel another demon's energy. The radar filters out which energies are good and which are bad based on her views on the demon. If she feels comfortable around the demon, she feels no effects. Whenever she feels threatened by one, the radar goes off."

"And her body burns the demon when she touches it!" Botan completed, slapping her fist into her open hand. "That would explain why she can touch Juichi, but not the Kouma no Ken! She thought the sword was dangerous so her demonic energy tried to burn it—"

"But the sword had stronger energy than her, so it back fired." I finished.

We looked at Juichi to see what he thought. He stared at me in silence, his fingers laced.

"…so what can she do, to not get burnt again?" He asked. "Even if Botan were to erase her memories, this could happen over and over again."

"Speaking of erasing memories," Botan said, her finger on her chin, "now that there's a good reason…I think I can get permission to not erase her memories."

Juichi jumped up, his eyes wide with excitement. "Really?"

Botan nodded and Juichi picked her up in a hug. "Thank you Botan!"

"P-put me down!" She gasped as he spun her around.

I smiled lightly before turning to look at Mitsuki. My smile slowly fell.

"She will have to go through training." I said. Juichi stopped twirling Botan and put her down.

"She needs to strengthen her demonic energy so that she can control who she burns…" I looked at Juichi with narrowed eyes, "and who burns her."

Guilt took control of my heart. I closed my eyes.

_I am a fool for getting her and her brother involved in the first place._

"This is my fault, that she ended up like this." I opened my eyes and looked down at her. "Please allow me to train her."

~…*…*…*…*…~

"You must be going crazy," Juichi growled, "if you think that I'll let you get near her again."

I stayed still and kept my eyes shut. All of this information was bewildering.

Who would have thought, I had demon smoldering powers!

"He's only trying to help!" Botan defended.

"He's helped enough." Juichi growled in reply. "None of this would have happened if he had left me alone!"

"But it makes sense," Suuichi pushed on, "since we both are Kitsune—"

"Stop comparing yourself to me!" Juichi yelled.

Kitsune he said?

Juichi was a Yako, and so was the rest of my family.

_Wait…Suuichi is a Kitsune too?_

Suddenly there was a shuffle, a crash and a punch.

"Juichi! Get off of Kurama!" Botan screamed, adding to the struggle.

I decided I had pretended to sleep long enough. I sat up to see Juichi punch Suuichi in the face. I reeled back in shock.

"Juichi!"

Juichi looked up at me along with Suuichi and Botan.

"Get off of him." I said, lowering my voice as I shook my head slowly. I didn't understand exactly what Suuichi had done, but punching his face would get us nowhere.

Juichi got off of him and came to my side. "Are you feeling better, Mitsuki?" He asked in a whisper.

I nodded. "I'm fine. The memories just took me by surprise is all." I looked at Suuichi, who was being pulled up by Botan.

"Minamino-san, please train me."

~…*…*…*…*…~

While Juichi and Kurama argued about Mitsuki's training, I stared at the girl quietly.

Koenma had, quite frankly, flipped at the fact that Mitsuki was a human, although she'd been born from two demon parents. When we found that no humans were in their heritage, he demanded that I investigated.

So here I was, given no hints on how Mitsuki was a human, even in their own household. I thought that there would have been _some_ kind of clue, but her habitat screamed humane.

Their parents were out of town, so there was no use in asking them questions. Juichi had given me more than enough of his side of the story. What I needed was Mitsuki's memories back. Erasing them again would do no good.

"But once Mitsuki is strong enough to protect herself," Kurama said, raising his voice with slight irritation, "I won't have to be around anymore."

"I can protect her myself. You never needed to be around!" Juichi snapped in reply. "And Mitsuki doesn't need any kind of training!"

"Juichi!" Mitsuki yelled. "Calm down already!"

"Calm down?" Juichi screamed, turning to Mitsuki. "This guy is the reason your life has been turned upside down!"

"So I've heard." Mitsuki mumbled, sighing as Juichi sat beside her. The two began to bicker as Kurama turned away respectfully. I could see slight guilt hanging in his eyes.

When I had first met Kurama, I'd found odd that he'd so carelessly involved Juichi and Mitsuki—he seemed too smart and tactical to make such a foolish decision.

But at the same time, I was glad that he had.

Juichi could come in handy in the near future. And in order to keep him, I needed Mitsuki to stay with us too.

"I think that she should be trained!" I said, throwing up my hand.

Juichi stared at me with his mouth open. "Not you too, Botan!"

Mitsuki raised her hand, and Kurama followed.

"Well then," Mitsuki said with a wide grin as Juichi's head spun to look at all three of us, "I guess it's been decided!"

~…*…*…*…*…~

Sorry if there were mistakes in this one. My beta didn't get to go over the final draft. We kept changing stuff to this chapter, so I don't know how it's going effect the plot. It should be fine, though.

Yako: "the _yako_ (野狐, literally _field foxes_, also called _nogitsune_) tend to be mischievous or even malicious kitsune"

Thank you for reading!

Thank you **Cole** and **Delu **for reviewing! :D

**PS**, I am going off to college in a three days (the 18th to be exact!) so I may not update in the next two weeks like I have been…sorry! If things go smoothly I'll try (but no promises)!

See you next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

…I know…you all hate me for not updating in so long…

College is just so amazing; I've become so busy by getting involved with programs and classes and AWESOME friends…

I'm so sorry! I hope you will still read this fanfiction. If not I completely understand.

Anyway, enjoy!

~…*…*…*…*…*…~

"Mitsuki-san where have you been?" Aoki shook my shoulders as I tried to keep my head attached. "It's been a week since you've been out of school, and you wouldn't answer your phone!"

"I-I was really sick…" I stuttered out, taking hold of her hands. "And you're not helping by shaking me."

She let go of me and sighed. "I'm sorry…I was just so worried!"

While I was touched that she was worried about me, I felt apathetic about the situation. How clueless we humans were, worrying about little things like colds while others were out there fighting three eyed demons.

"What was wrong?" Aoki asked as we sat down. "Did you have a fever?"

I was silent for a moment before nodding my head. A fever was an understatement…

Classes seemed useless and the day dragged on. I stared at the clock knowing that when it hit the three I'd be training to control my new found power.

It had been hard to convince Juichi to let me train with Suuichi (or Kurama, as they called him) but I didn't want to burn whenever I touched a demon. And by the way Suuichi spoke, I assumed that I was going to be meeting them a lot more.

The final bell rang and I said goodbye to Aoki. I dashed downstairs, pulled my rollerblades on and skated out into the crisp spring air.

_I wonder what training is going to be like…_

Was I going to become a beast at martial arts? Or maybe he'd be able to teach me how to jump across trees!

~…*…*…*…*…*…~

"Run."

I blinked at Suuichi as I finished tying my shoes. "Huh?"

He lifted his finger for explanation. "In order for me to see where we need to start, I need to test your durability, stamina and speed. So, I need you to run."

I looked up at the red haired beauty, eyeing him suspiciously and searching for the demon grin in his smile. Now that I knew what he was, I was a little wearier.

Not to mention that every once in a while I felt a tug at the back of my head.

I stood up and stretched, avoiding the green orbs. "Alright…well, how long do I need to run?"

Suuichi's hand returned behind his back as he smiled.

"Oh, only five miles."

My mouth dropped. "What?"

Suuichi turned slightly to face the track. "It's a good amount for a start, right? And if you're done with it in good time, we'll add more."

"You're crazy." I stated, crossing my arms. "If you think I'm going to run that long, you're just crazy."

He raised an eyebrow towards me. "Like I said, I need to test you—"

"Yeah yeah!" I sighed, rubbing my head. "You need to test my durability, stamina and faint ability!"

"Speed." He corrected.

I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. "Don't you have some cool magic powers that can just scan me up and down and tell you?"

Suuichi sighed. "You are really spoiled by Juichi, aren't you?"

Ah, there it was. The undercover devil!

"I am not!" I snapped back.

"Then begin running." He replied calmly, an amused smirk on his face.

I blew my cheeks out as my hands tightened into fists. He turned and began to walk slowly.

"H-hey! Where are you going?"

"Well, since you refuse to train," He said, "I have no business here."

I felt blood rush to my head before I turned towards the track.

"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend!"

~…*…*…*…*…*…~

No, I wasn't being mean. It's just that I had to encourage her somehow…and Juichi seems to be her weakness. If anyone was mean, it was her. She's the one who insulted my relationship status.

"'No wonder you don't have a girlfriend,' she says…"

I simply chose to not have a girlfriend. With demons falling left and right all around me, I couldn't afford to be saving more loved ones; I already have to defend my mother as it is.

"This…is…stupid!" Mitsuki called from the other side of the track. I turned to face her and smiled.

"We've only just begun!"

~…*…*…*…*…*…~

"That. Was. Horrible." I coughed out, lying in the cool grass beside the track.

Kurama handed me a drink, which I gladly took as I sat up.

"You did adequately well."

I looked at Kurama with a raised eyebrow. He raised one back. "What?"

"I just don't trust your 'compliments.'" I said before opening the can of juice and chucking it down.

"Why not?"

I wiped my mouth, not looking him in the eye. What was I supposed to say? 'You're a demon who could easily rip my head off. That's why.'

I shrugged, looking at him for a moment before bringing up my knee to my chest. "You're not who I thought you were."

The two of us sat in silence for a little, the wind blowing our hair back. I closed my eyes and sighed, relaxing. It had been so stressful recently; I couldn't do anything without thinking about Jun or the others.

"Mitsuki-san?"

I opened my eyes and turned to look at Kurama. He held his head down slightly and looked away from me.

"I…haven't had the chance to apologize."

I felt all the muscles in my body tense. So much for relaxation. He shuffled slightly and continued.

"I…It was my fault that you, and your brother, got involved in all of this. I blackmailed him into helping me and the others steal the artifacts…and I threatened your safety—"

"Stop." Kurama looked at me, and I fidgeted in response. "What's done is done. Besides, you're trying to correct your mistakes now, right? That's what counts."

He didn't seem satisfied with my response. "But, Mitsuki-san…"

"Look, I know that I shouldn't forgive you, and that I shouldn't even still be talking to you right now. But I can see you're truly troubled by what you did. So I don't need an apology."

He looked at his feet.

"Still not satisfied, are you?" I mumbled.

"…I can't help but think this is because of my…'charm'…" He replied, rubbing the back of his head.

I stared at him, my eyes wide, and then I laughed. I laughed until I cried. When I finally calmed down, I looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You lost your charm when I found out you were a demon!"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and I covered my mouth. "I-I'm sorry…" I grinned behind my hand, "but it is the truth."

I truly think he lost a bit of confidence at that moment. It felt good to get vengeance on the guy who once turned my face red from a simple 'hello.'

"How about this," I said, "I'll forgive you if you properly train me."

He looked at me for a moment before smiling lightly and lowering his head.

"You become more and more interesting each time I talk to you, Mitsuki-san."

I rubbed the back of my head while snickering. "Well…I can't say I get that compliment everyday…"

"Oh, so you trust that compliment, do you?"

"Wha—no! Y-you—"

Kurama chuckled into his hand before standing up and turning to me all the way.

"I look forward to working with you, Mitsuki-san." He said as he bowed down to me.

I quickly lowered my head in reply. "S-same here."


End file.
